A US$ 15,000 batch of drugs is found inside a festive bag in Hanoi on Saturday morning. Photos courtesy of police

Police in Hanoi on Saturday arrested two people for carrying hundreds of methamphetamine pills on a taxi.

Doan Van Thieu, 28, and Bui Thi Kim Oanh, 30, told police, who stopped their taxi for a random check around 2:45 am, that they were returning home after visiting some local pagodas as part of their Lunar New Year celebration.

When the officers demanded to check their red plastic bag, Oanh said that it was just a “festive bag” carrying lucky food and objects from the pagodas, including a traditional rice dessert and a pocket of salt.

Police however found drugs hidden inside the cake and the salt pocket. Some were also concealed inside a camera.

The pills had an estimated street value of around VND300 million (US$15,000), police said.

The two traffickers told police that they had been hired to transport the drugs by an unidentified person. They claimed that they had not been told where they would deliver the drugs to.

Police are investigating into the case.

Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws. Those convicted of smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face the death penalty.

The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death.